Defenders of the Web: The People Behind 7 Influential Security Companies – Business Insider

Business Insider, by Cale Guthrie Weissman

Browsing the web may be easy, but ensuring your digital safety is not.

That's why there are hundreds of companies around providing numerous products to safeguard consumers and companies from malicious actors. While many of these companies offer seemingly identical products, some of the best are not only protecting users but researching what hackers are doing and exposing them.

Here are a few of the most influential companies on the market today, the people behind these firms, and some of the important vulnerabilities they've brought to light.

Kaspersky Lab: Eugene Kaspersky

Kaspersky Lab was founded in 1997 by the storied Russian security specialist Eugene Kaspersky. From the beginning it has provided anti-virus software to large companies. But in the 2000s it expanded to offer more wide-reaching products including consumer and mobile security products.

Its researchers have been known to expose some of the most famous hacking groups and their malware. These include Flame — which was discovered in 2012 as a highly advanced cyber espionage program — as well as the Equation group, which was just announced this year as a clandestine computer spying ring. Kaspersky Labs’ headquarters are in Moscow, although it has over 30 offices globally. Read more.